Documentary photographer Steve Simon captures "The Republicans"
In the summer of 2004, armed with cameras and press credentials, Canadian photojournalist Steve Simon moved in and out of Madison Square Garden, capturing the essence of the 2004 Republican Convention. The arrangement of his images in "The Republicans" (Charta, $35.00) delivers an outstanding visual narrative of iconic opposites and shrewd observations, a recording of an unprecedented moment in American politics, power structure and media predominance.
"I knew this would be both an important political convention and an ironic portrait of the Republican Party against the interesting choice of New York City as its backdrop," said Simon. "With 15,000 accredited media covering 5,000 Republican delegates, I understood how powerful the media's role would be in presenting the convention to Americans and to the world. That's why I elected to focus my cameras not only on the delegates inside and the protesters outside, but on the media participants themselves."
Family, August 31, 2004, pg. 38 from "The Republicans." Photo by Steve Simon
Kiss, August 29, 2004, pg. 39 from "The Republicans." Photo by Steve Simon
Simon's
earlier books are "Healing Waters: The Pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne"
(University of Alberta Press, 1995) and "Empty Sky: The Pilgrimage to
Ground Zero" (Stanke Montreal, 2002). His current project is a new
book, "Heroines & Heroes—Hope, HIV and Africa," also to be
published by Cartha.
Look for an upcoming interview with Steve Simon in Professional Photographer magazine.